


Solace

by LoveHatesYou



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, POV Third Person, Solas Being Solas, Solavellan, Sub Solas, Virgin Dread Wolf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-25 20:28:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7546553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveHatesYou/pseuds/LoveHatesYou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lavellan will not give up on the Dread Wolf so easily, even if she has to become a God to stop him.</p>
<p>Featured Inquisitor: <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/7602475">Aire Lavellan</a></p>
<p><b>Excerpt</b><br/>"Fen'harel gave my people freedom. Because of that I was born free. Do you know what freedom is, Solas? Freedom is making your own choices in life. Freedom is the ability and the will to make decisions for oneself. No one ever said that those choices would be right or good. Freedom also allows us to make incredibly stupid choices, like falling in love with someone hellbent on ending this world. So whatever you think is 'best' for me doesn't matter, because my path is my own, even if at the end of that path is nothing but pain and death. Fen'harel gave me freedom, and <i>you</i> don't get to take that away from me, Solas."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Replay

Two more years of searching. Two more years of countless leads that encouraged the smallest flicker of hope only to leave our Lavallan's hopes broken and torn once more. It seemed like only a few months ago that the inquisitor defeated Corypheus, a triumph that almost seemed numb without him standing at her side as she had so often dreamed. Of course she was happy that the day was saved, and all that good stuff, but wasn't the hero of the story supposed to receive the fairy tale ending of riding off into the sunset with her one true love? The love and support of her friends was not enough to fill the void that he'd left behind in her life. She tried her best to forget about him, to move on with her life and just be satisfied with how things turned out in the end. After all the Inquisition was now a powerful force in the southern lands, and she it's beloved leader. Her options for lovers and suitors alike was a list few could compete with, but she had interest in none.

Anytime someone approached her, she could think of nothing but Solas. Her heart remained put away on a shelve, waiting for her love to come back and reclaim it. It was much harder to deal with after the fighting was all over. It hadn't felt truly real when he ended things with her before the final showdown with Corypheus, and her own arrogance had told her that it had only been temporary and that they would surely be able to work out whatever issues that lay between them. But now it seemed like he was truly gone forever. She never let her friends see how much pain she was in, and it was important to her that those that followed her saw her as a strong and fearless leader. It was only at night when she could no longer bare to maintain that appearance of strength, crying herself into fitful sleep.

She often wondered if Solas could see into her dreams, if he was capable of such a thing, or even willing. Did he know the loneliness that she felt? He'd showed her before how he was able to enter her dreams, making them feel just as real as any moment of her waking life. Perhaps such a thing could only be accomplished if they were physically within a certain range, but even that thought didn't ease her wounded heart. Even if Solas couldn't come to her in her dreams, he'd left of his own free will, it was his choice to be away from her either way.

She thought that seeing him again would make things better, if she could just talk to him one last time perhaps her heart could finally be put to ease, but the events that unfolded in the Eliuvian crossroads crushed those hopeful dreams, leaving her whole world turned upside down. There was nothing that she could have said to change those fated events. Solas said his peace, and left her speechless and with one less appendage than she'd started out with. Her heart screamed to run after him, to follow him through the mirror, but she had not been strong enough, able only to look ahead as Fen'harel strode away from her, perhaps forever.

That moment had broken what was left of her already crumbling faith. While she had never believed herself to be the Harald of Andrastre, and even her old Dalish beliefs were an after-thought rather than a way of life for herself personally, it was still hard to accept the things she'd learned from the fragments of conversation that she'd had with Solas, one who'd lived through such times. But the more she thought about it, the more she came to the conclusion that God was simply a title that one bestowed upon oneself out of a false sense of righteousness.

**"After the war ended, generals became respected elders, then kings, and finally Gods."**

Even though there was so much wrong with Solas' viewpoint of the current world she could still see the wisdom in many of his words. She didn't want to become like the old gods, or like the Tevinter Magistrates. The Inquisition had done what it set out to do, and if it continued she could only see herself eventually taking over the south, losing herself in power and politics when neither of those things had meant anything to her in the past. She was miserable without Solas, but she would be even more miserable if obligations and duties strayed her from the only goal she had left, saving Solas from himself.


	2. What Now?

A month had gone by since Aire had told the Exalted Council that they could all bite her narrow Dalish ass. That was the part that she chose to remember about that day. She'd spent such a long time leading the Inquisition, trying to be the perfect leader, playing nice with all parties for the sake of gaining support. What did any of it matter anymore? Regardless of whether the Inquisition remained or disbanded, it was obvious that the south was going to return to the same old stupid squabbling and bickering that had existed before the world almost _fucking ended_ , a fact that many now took for granted.  
  
It almost made her want to support Solas' cause, if the people couldn't work together after almost losing everything, they were probably hopeless any damn way. That was just a passing thought in a moment of anger, she didn't really want this world to end, even if it was infuriating about ninety-five perfect of the time.  
  
The anger was a good distraction though, she didn't want her only memory of that day to be her lover tearing off her arm to keep it from killing her, and effectively killing the last remaining faith that she had in the old gods of her people. She didn't have the heart to share the truth with other elves, not even her own clan members. She wanted to though, and she planned on it. Even if no one would listen to her, they needed to know the truth about the past. She wanted a better life for the Dalish, and all elves, and accepting reality was the first step that needed to be taken. Though many elves disappeared in Thedas, which Aire attributed to Fen'harel, there were still many that remained. It was her goal to help unite them, to help them get a better foothold in the south instead of constantly being under the feet of Orlais and Ferelden.  
  
Even though the Inquisition was officially disbanded, it didn't make the influence that Aire had just magically disappear. She remained at Skyhold, and there were many that stayed as well, even without an official banner to stand under anymore and the processes that she and Liliana used to vet those that remained close to them borderlined extreme. Aire wasn't going to take any chances though, she couldn't afford to have outside agents around her. She learned from her past mistake of trusting too much, though it made her colder than she'd been before.  
  
The Iron Bull and his chargers stayed in the Skyhold tavern, even though they didn't technically work for Aire any longer, it was a good base of operations for them, and Aire was glad they stuck around. Skyhold had become something of a lonely place. Varric was back in Kirkwall as the viscount, Tom Rainier left to seek redemption, Cassandra was off rebuilding the seekers, Cullen retired, devoting his time to helping former Templars, Josephine returned to the affairs of her family, Vivienne was Divine now (not that they had ever truly been friends), Sera came around sometimes, her antics were a good distraction from reality.  
  
Liliana and Morrigan were still with her, Liliana stayed to lend her service as a spymaster in hopes of helping Aire find Solas, and Morrigan stayed for the sake of researching Aire, and the effects that the Well of Sorrows and the aftermath of the anchor. Even though Solas had taken her arm, it's magic still tingled in the place where her arm was supposed to be.  
  
Then there was Dorian, the person that she missed the most save for one. During their travels she had seen the arrogant exterior slip away, reveling the sensitive and kind person that the Tevinter mage truly was. He cared about his friends deeply, and desperately wanted to change his country for the better. "The Good Tevinter" They affectionately referred to him. As much as Aire wanted him to stay at Skyhold with her, she knew that he could do the most good back in Tevinter, even if he thought himself too small to actually be able to make a difference.  
  
Aire stretched out across the couch in her quarters, toying with the sending crystal that Dorian had given to her for a moment before he finally activated it, sending her voice across an impossible distance to reach him.  
**  
** **"Dorian? Are you there?"**  
  
No response. Aire frowned before trying again. **"Dorian?"  
**  
**"Oh, sorry about that, love. I was...um...detained. Anyway! So good to hear your voice, I was starting to wonder if you'd forgotten about me."** The crystal glowed a bright blue with the sound of Dorian's voice.  
  
Aire raised an eyebrow, even though no one was around to see the particular expression. **"You know, I was thinking about asking you if there was a way to alter these things so that we could see one another, but I think I've reconsidered, I have a feeling you're naked for a lot of these conversations."**  
  
**"Oh come on, don't act like you wouldn't love to see this glorious example of the perfect physique."** Dorian replied smugly.  
  
  
**"This is actually more than just a social call, Dorian. I need a favor. I'm coming to Tevinter, but it needs to be in secret. I trust you've nudged your way up the latter far enough over there to help me with this tiny request, you are simply amazing like that, my dear."** That last part was soft and playful, a tone that only her friend Dorian ever really heard. She supposed that their connection came in part due to both of them reaching for relationships that would be heavily frowned upon, their complicated love lives making them the perfect companions.  
  
**"As you obviously already know, flatter will get you everywhere, I'll make the arrangements, I hope you have a cute bard outfit, you're going to need it."**


End file.
